The Candle Shop Mystery

 The Candle Shop Mystery (1967) by Eileen Hill

During Christmas break Robin, her brother Kevin, and friends Mindy & Michael visit an old Spanish neighborhood in Los Angeles at the behest of Mindy's friend Pilar. Something strange is going on at the local candle shop--long owned by Senor Garcia and now operated on his behalf by the Lodato family. At first the family was very friendly and open, but now they have banished Senor Garcia from his own backroom and act very suspicious and afraid. Pilar is sure that the son, Ramon, wants to confide in her but he's too afraid. When she visits Mindy and hears stories about the mysteries that Robin has solved in the past, she asks her new friends to come to Olvera Street and help find out what's wrong at the candle shop. There is a small fire in the shop and a mysterious man with a pin-striped suit hanging around--not to mention his friend with the eyepatch. When Robin finds a shard of pottery in the ashes from the fire, she's more than half-way to finding the solution.

My first Robin Kane story. She's made in the standard girl detective mode and a little bit younger than Nancy Drew. Somewhere between Nancy and Trixie Belden--Mindy's father is wealthy enough to purchase a hydroplane of his own and the story opens with Robin helping her mother make curtains. I get a bit of a Trixie/Honey vibe with a charming mystery from the late '60s. Not an intricate plot, but fun and with a little bit of danger/action--just enough to make it adventurous for young readers, but not too violent. It also provides a look at some Spanish/Mexican Christmas traditions that lets us see how others celebrate the season. It was a nice low-key read for the holiday season. ★★★ 

First Line: Robin Kane, sitting cross-legged on the window seat in her bedroom, was struggling to sew a hem in the new curtains she and her mother were making

Last Line: The sounds of happy voices followed Robin and the others as they left Olvera Street, sounds they would remember for a long time to come.